Method for producing closures

ABSTRACT

Completely automatic system stamps and forms metal discs for closures of the two-piece type and feeds them sealing face down to a conveyor belt. At first transfer zone, magnet pulls each disc or lid up against lower pass of second conveyor belt. Magnetic pulley retains lids in contact with belt to swing up through arc to upper pass of belt. Lids are then conveyed to treating zone where gasket material is applied as lids are rotated and transported arcuately. Radial arms on carousel travel in circle to pick up lids sequentially by magnetism or vacuum from coating table and transfer them to upper pass of next conveyor. At next transfer zone, lids are picked up sequentially by individual magnets on lower pass of next conveyor and moved to next transfer zone where they are released in groups to form transverse rows on wide conveyor belt. Belt passes through curing station and diverter realigns transverse rows to fore and aft single file. Next conveyor transfers and feeds lids sequentially to assembly zone. Closure bands are also fed sequentially to assembly zone and combined with lids to produce assembled twopiece closures. Lids may alternatively be fed to different assembly zone where they are packed in sets for shipping. Onepiece closures with integral lid and flange may be formed and processed in same manner.

United States Patent 11 1 3,641,959 Hurst [451 Feb. 15, 1972 [54] METHODFOR PRODUCING CLOSURES [57] ABSTRACT [72] Inventor: Robert H i Muncle'Completely automatic system stamps and forms metal discs [73] Assignee:Ball Corporation, Muncie, 1nd. for closures of the two-piece type andfeeds them sealing face down to a conveyor belt. At first transfer zone,magnet pulls [22] Fled: 1968 each disc or lid up against lower pass ofsecond conveyor belt. 2 1 App] 7 4, 45 Magnetic pulley retains lids incontact with belt to swing up through arc to upper pass of belt. Lidsare then conveyed to treating zone where gasket material is applied aslids are [52] U.S.C1. ..ll3/ 121 A, 1 13/80 DA, 113/113 R, rotated andtransported arcuate]y Radial arms on carousel 113/121 29/430 travel incircle to pick up lids sequentially by magnetism or [51 1 Int. Cl vacuumfrom coating table and transfer them to upper pass of Field of Search D,1 1 l l 80 next conveyor. At next transfer zone, lids are picked up 113/30 121 A, 121 AA, 121 113 R, sequentially by individual magnets on lowerpass of next con- 1 3 B, 1 14 200 208 B veyor and moved to next transferzone where they are released in groups to form transverse rows on wideconveyor belt. Belt References Cited passes through curing station anddiverter realigns transverse rows to fore and aft single file. Nextconveyor transfers and UNITED STATES PATENTS feeds lids sequentially toassembly zone. Closure bands are 3,380,419 4/1968 Moloney ..1 13/121also fed sequentially to assembly zone and combined with lids 2,441,8765/1948 113/] D to produce assembled two-piece closures. Lids may altema-1,776,227 9/1930 13/80 tively be fed to difi'erent assembly zone wherethey are packed 3,327,665 6/1967 "113/80 in sets for shipping. One-piececlosures with integral lid and 3,217,397 M965 13/121 flange may beformed and processed in same manner. 2,250,225 7/1941 ....ll3/12l3,328,873 7/1967 Schweers ..1 13/114 R 15 Claims, 28 Drawing FiguresPrimary Examiner-Charles W. Lanham Assistant Examiner-Michael J KeenanAtt0rneyCampbell, Harris & O'Rourke PATENTEBFEB 15 1972 3.641.959

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BY Robert L. Hursf ATTORNEYS PAIENTEBFEB 15 I972 gggd im 43 428 Ifi\2442 444 FIG. 27

FIG. 26 76 INVENTOR.

BY Robert L. Hurst ATTORNEYS INVENTOR.

Roberf L. Hursf BY ATTORNEYS METHOD FOR PRODUCING CLOSURES BACKGROUND OFTHE INVENTION Glass jars have been used for many years for the purposeof home canning of fruits and vegetables, and many types of closureshave been evolved for sealing such jars. Of the many early types,Putmans Lightning Jar, which utilized a glass cover plate, the margin ofwhich pressed an annular rubber gasket against the margin of the jarmouth with the cover plate held tight by a toggle-operated bail, andMasons screwthreaded jar fitted with a zinc cap having mating threads onthe flange to hold rubber gasket material against the jar to form a topseal, were particularly popular.

Subsequently, two-piece closures were developed comprising a disc-typelid having a concave margin to seat on the margin of the jar mouth, theconcave margin being coated with a gasket material formed in place suchas cured latex and, more recently, plastisol, the lid being clamped inplace by a flanged and threaded band which engaged corresponding threadson the jar mouth and the periphery of the lid. The two-piece closure hascome into widespread use because the bands may be used repeatedly sothat only the lids need be replaced for each new use.

Prior practice in the manufacture of the lids has been ratherinefficient and relatively costly because of a large amount of manualhandling, which also results in lower production than might otherwise berealized for effort expanded. The lids are very thin and may be easilydeformed. Moreover, they are commonly treated on the sealing face toprevent corrosion by the contents of a jar and it is essential to avoidscratching the protective coating which would render them unusable. Ithas been common after each operation to place, or stack, the lids in astorage bin. They then have to be sorted out and fed uniformly into thenext operating stage. When gasket material to be formed in place isapplied to the concave marginal seat, it is in viscous form but stillquite subject to running or spreading if the lid is tilted or jarredlaterally while it is traveling to a curing station. A large proportionof two-piece closures have been assembled by hand, and this, too, hasproved to be cumbersome as well as expensive.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention overcomes thedifficulties mentioned above and provides a system which eliminates allmanual operations from initial stamping to final assembly. The lids areaccurately controlled at every stage to prevent damage of any kind andto prevent any displacement of the gasket material, as a result,production rates have been increased substantially, while at the sametime greatly enhancing uniformity and quality of product.

Generally stated, the system includes a machine to stamp out disc-shapedlids and form a concave peripheral sealing seat on a first face of eachlid. The machine sequentially supplies the lids to the adjacent end of aconveyor of the endless loop belt type with the first or sealing facedown, and the conveyor delivers the lids sequentially to a firsttransfer zone. At this transfer zone, a second belt conveyor is arrangedto overlie the end of the first conveyor and extends horizontally in adirection perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the first conveyor.

The lower pass of the second conveyor is slightly spaced above the upperpass of the first conveyor and a magnet, preferably of the ceramicencapsulated type, closely overlies the lower pass of the secondconveyor at the juncture. The magnetic field created by the magnet issufficient to pull each lid up as it reaches the juncture and hold itagainst the second conveyor belt, as the latter moves the lid away fromthe juncture. The pulley which guides the second conveyor belt into areturn course is provided with magnets which hold the lids in contactwith the belt as they move upward in an arc of about 180 so that thelids become inverted with their first or sealing faces up to receive thesealing material.

The upper pass of the second conveyor moves the lids onward and passesthem on to a third conveyor which delivers them sequentially to a firsttreating zone where they are fed onto a coating table at selectedintervals along its periphery. As the lids travel through a horizontalarc, a series of pouring spouts apply a coating of sealing material,which may be latex but preferably a selected plastisol, to the margin ofeach lid in the concave seat.

A carousel is located adjacent to the coating table and includes astandard mounted for rotation about a vertical axis and a plurality ofradial arms. Each arm has a pickup device, which may be magnetic orvacuum, at its outer end to pick up a lid from'a station of the coatingtable. The carousel is so located and operated at such a rate that thepickup devices pass over a selected point on the peripheral path oftravel of the coating stations at the same time as one of the coatingstations reaches that point, and each pickup device picks up one lid andswings it through an arc to deposit it on the upper pass of the adjacentend of the fourth belt-type conveyor.

This conveyor moves the lids sequentially to the next transfer zonewhere a fifth conveyor is arranged in longitudinal alignment with thefourth and its receiving end overlaps and overlies the delivery end ofthe fourth so that its'lower pass is spaced vertically above the upperpass of the fourth. This lower pass travels in the same direction as theupper pass of the fourth and is provided with discrete individualmagnets, each of which picks up a single lid from the fourth conveyorand carries it onward to the next transfer zone.

At this latter transfer zone a sixth conveyor belt is arranged with itshorizontal path of travel perpendicular to that of the fifth conveyor,and it extends from this transfer zone to and through a second treatingzone or curing station. The sixth belt is wide enough to accommodate aplurality of lids in a row transverse to the direction of travel of thebelt, and the row may constitute as many as 20 lids. As the fifthconveyor delivers lids to the transfer zone, its magnets are caused torelease a plurality of lids simultaneously to deposit them in transverserows on the sixth belt for travel to and through the curing station.

When the lids with their sealing material'cured leave the curing stationthey move to the next transfer zone where a diverter intercepts each rowand realigns it into a single file stream which travels onward to anassembly zone.

At this latter zone the lids are sequentially fed into an assemblymachine. At the same time a series of flanged closure bands aredelivered flange up from a source of supply sequentially to the assemblymachine where they are arranged with the lids in sets of one lid and oneband with the lids spaced slightly above the bands and in verticalregistry. The sets then move sequentially through the machine along apredetermined path and, intermediate the ends of the path, each lid ismoved downward into seating relation with its mating band. The completeclosure assemblies then move onward to the packing station. There are nomanual operations in this entire sequence and the lids are completelyprotected against damage and against any displacement of the sealingmaterial.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Various other advantages and featuresof novelty will become apparent as the description proceeds inconjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic view, in plan form, showing the various parts ofan apparatus constructed in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view, on line 2-2 of FIG. 1, of the meansfor automatically inverting closure lids while transferring same betweenconveyors;

FIG. 3 is a front elevational view, on line 3-3 of FIG. 1, of theapparatus of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a top plan view, on line 4-4, of a portion of the stationarymagnet of FIG. 3;

F IG. 5 is a sectional view taken on line 5-5 of FIG. 4;

min-n "1,1

FIG. 6 is an elevational view, on line 6-6 of FIG. 3, showing themagnetized rotatable pulley;

FIG. 7 is a side elevational view, on line 77 of FIG. 1, of the infeedconveyor means for conveying lids from the inverting apparatus of FIGS.2 and 3;

FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken on line 8-8 of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is an end elevational view of the stop means, or positioner, ofFIG. 7;

FIG. 10 is a plan view of the infeed disc, the coating table, and thecarousel for removing lids from the coating table;

FIG. 11 is a sectional view taken on line 1 l-1l of FIG. 10;

FIG. 12 is an elevational view of the coating means for applying sealingmaterial to lids carried on the coating table of FIG. 10;

FIG. 13 is a sectional view taken on line 13-13 of FIG. 10;

FIG. 14 is a view similar to FIG. 13 showing a modified form of pickupdevice;

FIG. 15 is a schematic plan view of one of the rotor plates shown inFIG.13;

FIG. 16 is a sectional view taken on line 16- 16 of FIG. 15;

FIG. 17 is a side elevational view of a portion of the conveyor shown inFIG. 10;

FIG. 18 is an end view ofthe conveyor shown in FIG. 17;

FIG. 19 is a top plan view of a portion of the conveyor shown in FIG.17;

FIG. 20 is a schematic sectional view on line 2020 of FIG. 19;

FIG. 21 is a side elevational view of portions of two conveyors at atransfer zone;

FIG. 22 is an elevational view of portions of two conveyors at anothertransfer zone;

FIG. 23 is an elevational view, partly in section, of an independentmagnet and release means;

FIG. 24 is a side elevational view of a set of three conveyors at atransfer zone;

FIG. 25 is a side elevational view of three conveyors and a diverter atanother transfer zone;

FIG. 26 is a top plan view of the diverter;

FIG. 27 is a sectional view in elevation of the assembly machine; and

FIG. 28 is a top plan view of the assembly machine.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The total apparatus for thepractice of the invention is schematically illustrated in FIG. 1, wherea stamping and forming machine 30 operates continuously to stamp discsfrom sheet stock and form them into closure lids by producing a concavesealing margin around the entire periphery of the lid, which margin iscoated with a thin layer of sealing material, which may be latex or aplastisol, the latter being presently preferred. The plastisol issubsequently cured in an oven to a rubberlike consistency and is adaptedto make sealing contact with the mouth of a typical Mason-type jar inuse.

The machine 30 sequentially supplies lids with their first, or sealing,face down to a first conveyor 32. The conveyor then sequentiallydelivers the lids to a first transfer zone 34, where inverter meansinverts the lids and moves them onward. The inverter means includes thedelivery end of a second conveyor 36. By the use of magnetic means to belater described, the lids are sequentially transferred to the secondconveyor with their second faces in contact with the conveyor belt, andare held in contact with the belt while it passes around an end looppulley, with the result that the lids now travel along the upper pass ofthe second conveyor with their first faces up.

The second conveyor now delivers the lids sequentially to a secondtransfer zone 38 where an automatically controlled stop means 40 allowsthem to pass individually to a second transfer means 42 including a starwheel which feeds the lids sequentially into a first treating zone 44and onto a coating machine 46. The latter applies the plastisol coatingto the concave marginal seat of each lid as they move through thetreating zone to the third transfer zone 48. A third transfer means inthe form of a carousel 50 picks up each lid and moves it to the adjacentreceiving end of a third conveyor 52.

Conveyor 52 moves the lids sequentially to a fourth transfer zone 54,where a fourth conveyor 56 picks them up from the third conveyor anddelivers them to a fifth transfer zone 58 and deposits them on a fifthconveyor 60. The latter is provided with a belt much wider than those ofthe previous conveyors and it is arranged to travel in a directionperpendicular to the path of travel of the fourth conveyor. The deliveryend of conveyor 56 overlies the entire width of the receiving end ofconveyor 60 and is arranged to simultaneously deposit a plurality oflids on conveyor 60 in a row transverse to the path of travel ofconveyor 60. This operation is repeated successively so that conveyor 60continuously receives such transverse rows.

Conveyor 60 moves the rows of lids onward to a second treating zone 62where they pass through a curing station 64 and on to a sixth transferzone 66, where they are transferred to a sixth conveyor 68 with the aidof a seventh conveyor 70 overlying the adjacent ends of conveyors 60 and68. Conveyor 68 moves the rows of lids onward to a seventh transfer zone72, and at this zone a diverter 74 intercepts the rows and realigns themto travel diagonally in single file onto the receiving end of an eighthconveyor 76. Alternatively, the diverter 74 may be arranged to dividethe rows and send a portion of each to a ninth conveyor 78.

Those lids which are deposited on conveyor 76 travel onward to anassembly zone 80 where they are arranged in sets, such as a dozen or ahalf-dozen, and placed in boxes. The boxes then move on to a packagingstation 82 where they are packed in larger cartons ready for shipping.

Those lids which are deposited on conveyor 78 travel onward to a secondassembly zone 84 where they are fed sequentially into an assemblymachine 86. Flanged closure bands from a source of supply 88 aredeposited on a 10th conveyor 90 which delivers them to assembly zone 84and feeds them sequentially into assembly machine 86. The machine alignssets of one lid and one band in registry, seats each lid in its band anddeposits them on 1 lth conveyor 92 which delivers them to secondpackaging zone 94 to be packed and shipped.

STAMPING AND FORMING MEANS-FIRST CONVEYOR The stamping and formingmachine 30 is a high-speed closure press capable of stamping and formingclosure lids at a high rate of speed, e.g., at the rate of 500 perminute or more for lids up to a diameter of about 86 mm. Any one of anumber of commercially available presses may be used for this phase ofthe operation. Although the press shown in the drawings includes atwo-out die, it is to be understood that the number of dies may vary asdesired or required.

As the lids are ejected from machine 30 they slide down inclined ramp102 onto the conveyor 32 for delivery to the first transfer zone 34.Since the machine is equipped with two side-by-side dies, the lids cometo the conveyor in laterally spaced relation. Therefore conveyor 32 isprovided with two laterally spaced belts 104, 106, preferably of thefabric type, which are aligned with the delivery paths of the lids 100.The dies of machine 30 operate alternately and accordingly the lids aredeposited in staggered array. In order that a pair of lids may arrivesimultaneously at the first transfer zone in side-byside relation, thetwo belts are individually speed controlled so that one will travelslightly faster than the other. One preferred way is through theappropriate selection of the size of the sprockets which drive thebelts. Since machine 30 delivers the lids to conveyor 32 with theirfirst, or sealing, faces down, it is necessary to invert them beforethey are delivered to the first treating zone where the sealing materialis to be applied to the concave seats.

INVERTER MEANS The lids are conventionally niade from commerciallyavailable tinplate which is a paramagnetic material, and it is thereforepossible to utilize magnetic means for inverting the lids and carryingout other steps in the process. The inverter means 35 for automaticallyinverting the lids as they are transferred from the first conveyor 32 tothe second conveyor 36 will now be described.

Considering FIGS. 1 to 3 particularly, it will be noted that conveyors32 and 36 travel essentially horizontally, as do the other conveyors inthe apparatus. The longitudinal axis of conveyor 36 is substantiallyperpendicular to that of conveyor 32 and it is provided with a firstsingle endless loop-type belt 108 carried by pulleys 110, 112, and 114so that it traverses the delivery end of belts 104 and 106 as best seenin FIG. 3. The lower pass 116 of belt 108 is spaced above belts 104 and106 sufficiently to provide a slight clearance for lids 100. Astationary magnet 118 is mounted closely above lower pass 116 at thejuncture of the two conveyors and creates a magnetic field which picksup each pair of lids as they arrive at the transfer zone and retainsthem with their second faces in contact with belt 108.

Pulley 110 guides the belt in an upward arc of about 180 and ismagnetized to retain the lids in contact with the belt. The pulley islaterally adjacent to conveyor 32 as well as to magnet 118 and thereforeas the lids are moved to the left, viewed in FIG. 3, until they leavethe field of magnet 118 they are subjected to the magnetic field of thepulley so that the field is substantially continuous. When they havecompleted their arcuate movement they are in inverted attitude on theupper pass 120 of belt 108, with their first faces up.

The first and second conveyors are driven through various conventionalsprockets and chains by motor 122, and the drive ratios are selected togive the desired results. It is, or course, essential that the pick upone pair of lids is not interfered with by the arrival of the next pairat the transfer point. Considering FIG. 3, it will be apparent that thelid picked up from belt 106 must be carried to the left of belt 104before the next pair of lids arrives. Therefore the speed of belts 104and 106 is selected relative to the rate of production of machine 30 toprovide substantial gaps between each successive pair of lids, and belt108 is driven at a greater lineal speed than belts 104 and 106. It willbe noted that the transfer of the lids from the first conveyor to thesecond conveyor results in changing them from a dual line to a singlefile arrangement which is desired for certain subsequent operations.

Continued movement of belt 108 brings the lids to transfer plate 124which bridges a narrow gap between pulley 112 and pulley 126 whichguides the reversal of belts 128 and and 130, the latter two beltsconstituting a continuation of conveyor 36. The upper surface oftransfer plate 124 is provided with a plating or a coating of alow-friction plastic material, and the momentum of the lids issufficient to cause them to slide across plate 124 and onto continuationbelts 128 and 130. If any of the lids slows down, it will be pushedacross by succeeding lids.

The fixed or stationary magnet 118 of FIG. 2 is shown in greater detailin FIGS. 4 and 5 where the magnet body 132 is in the form of arectangular parallelepiped and is flanked by a pair of paramagnetic bars134 of angle cross section. The body 132 consists of a commerciallyavailable ceramic encapsulated magnet, and all other magnets used in theapparatus are of a similar type. Pulley 110 is made up of threeparamagnetic discs 136 sandwiching two magnet discs 138 between them asseen in FIG. 6.

INFEED CONVEYOR AND AUTOMATIC STOP Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 7 to 9,the infeed conveyor means 36 and the automatic stop means 40 will now bedescribed. That portion of conveyor 36 which appears in FIG. 7 serves tomove the lids 100 onward from transfer plate 124 to the transfer zone38, where the automatic stop means 40 controls their advance to thesecond transfer means 42. The conveyor includes the laterally spacedbelts 128 and which travel in a longitudinal passage formed by anglemembers 140 and flat bed 142 carried by support 144, the belts beingdriven by motor 146. Each member 140 has a recessed portion or notch 148formed on the lower inner surface thereof. These notches and theunderlying portions of belts 128 and 130 cooperate to form passagewaysfor the peripheries of the lids as they move along on the belts and thevertical space is just sufficient for free movement of the lids.Consequently, no lid can rise sufficiently to overlie a portion of anadjacent lid and cause jamming. The belts are provided with low-frictionsurfaces which will move the lids onward against no resistance but whichwill readily slide under the lids when they are stopped for controlreasons.

The automatic stop means 40 includes a plate 150, attached by bracket152 to support 144 and located at the end of conveyor 36 as acontinuation of the upper surfaces of belts 128 and 130. A bellcrank 154is pivotally mounted on the plate at 156 for rotation clockwise andcounter clockwise and its upper arm 158 is provided with a resilientstop member 160 to block or allow passage of lids through the transferzone. The lower arm 162 is pivotally connected at 164 to the piston rod166 of the double acting air cylinder 168 which in turn is pivotallyconnected to bracket 170 depending from plate 150. Counterclockwisemovement of arm 162 is limited by contact with stop 172. When cylinder168 is actuated by a valve to be described later, stop member 160 risesto allow a lid to pass. The valve then reverses the cylinder 168 tolower stop member 160 and block passage of further lids.

The conveyor 36 must function to provide a sufficient backlog of lidsfor continuous operation of the succeeding portions of the apparatus atan optimum rate. Therefore, the rate at which lids are moved alongconveyor 36 should always be slightly in excess of machine 30 andconveyor 32. Hence the machine 30 and conveyor 32 are normally operatedat a supply rate slightly less than the rate of conveyor 36.

Two automatic controls are provided to coordinate these operations. Asshown in FIG. 8, a light passage 174 is formed in members 142 and 144,and a light source 176 is located below the passage and a photocell 178is located above the passage. If the photocell fails to detect light fortoo long a period of time, this means that there are too many lids beingstamped and delivered to conveyor 36. In this situation the appropriatesignal from the photocell may be used to slow down orstop machine 30temporarily until the backlog becomes normal.

A second automatic control may be used. to insure an adequate backlogfor subsequent operations. Light source 180 and photocell 182, FIG. 7,are arranged in the same way as those previously described but arelocated a short distance upstream from automatic stop means 40. As longas there are lids backed up to this point, photocell 182 will not detectlight and it will allow stop means 40 to function as described. However,if the supply dwindles and photocell 182 secs light, it will transmit asignal to stop action of stop means 40 and the subsequent treatingoperation until the desired backlog of lids is again present.

FIRST TREATING ZONE Turning now to FIGS. 1 and 10 to 12, the apparatusand operations in the first treating zone will now be described.Assuming that there is an adequate backlog of lids on conveyor 36, thestop means 40 will sequentially allow the advance of lids to the secondtransfer means 42. This includes an arcuate plate 184 having anupstanding guide flange 186, on which is mounted for rotation on avertical axis star wheel 188 having a series of evenly peripherallyspaced arms 190 defining between them notches 192 to receive and moveindividual lids. The lids are guided between the notches and flange 186to be sequentially delivered to coating table 194. The table alsorotates about a vertical axis and is provided with evenly peripherallyspaced coating stations 196, each adapted to receive and carry one lidthrough the coating operation. The movement of the star wheel andcoating table are coordinated so that each lid will be deposited inexact registry with its respective coating station.

Actuation of the air cylinder 168 of stop means 40 of FIGS. 7 and 9 iscontrolled by photocell 182 and light source 180. Whenever there is aninsufficient amount of lids disposed upon the infeed conveyor means 36such that light is transmitted from light source 180 to the photocell182, a signal is generated which is used to actuate stop means 40thereby preventing lids from flowing past said stop means 40. The signalso generated is transmitted to a solenoid 200, see FIG. 10. The solenoid200 in turn actuates an air valve 202 to open communication throughconduit 204 with a source of pressurized air, not shown, and throughconduit 208 with cylinder 168 to lower stop 160 and prevent a lid topass. As soon as a supply of lids increases sufficiently that light nolonger reaches photocell 198, valve 202 is reversed and pressurized airflows through conduit 206 to cylinder 168, causing it to raise stop 160.Exhaust air passes from the cylinder through conduit 208, the valve 202and conduit 210 to the atmosphere. Thus, transmission of a light beam tophotocell 182 is used to control the feeding of lids to the star wheel188.

In the event that the previous feed mechanism fails to supply a lid toany one of notches 192 in the star wheel the result would be an emptycoating station, and it would be necessary to stop the coating operationto avoid depositing coating material directly on a coating station whichwould then have to be cleaned out before operations could continue.Accordingly, an emergency control system is provided as illustrated inFIGS. 10 and 11. An aperture 212 is provided in plate 184 and a lightsource 214 and photocell 216 are vertically aligned with it. Theaperture is so located that it will be covered by each arm 190 anduncovered by each notch 192. If a lid is properly in place in each notchas indicated in FIG. 11, no light will reach photocell 216 and it willnot be actuated. However. if a lid is absent light will reach photocell216 and it will transmit a signal to stop the coating operation.

As previously stated, the star wheel 188 is coordinated with table 194so that it deposits lids one at a time to the coating stations 196. theupper surface of each station being disposed slightly below the surfaceof plate 184 to facilitate transfer. Each lid is secured against theupper surface of its respective station by suitable means, now shown,such as a magnet or a source of reduced pressure. Each coating stationis mounted in an opening in table 194 for rotation about its own axisand means are provided for causing such rotation at a rate which willcause a full revolution while the table is passing through a partialrotation.

A support ring 218 is mounted directly above table 194 and fixed theretoso that it rotates with the table at the same rate of speed. Mounted onring 218 are a plurality of spray nozzles 220, one for each coatingstation, and they are so located the tip of each nozzle is directlyabove the margin of one of the stations. They are controlled todischarge sealing material during about one-half of each revolution ofthe table, commencing shortly after a lid is deposited on a station.Since the lids are secured to the stations, they will each make a fullrevolution about their own vertical axis during the time theirrespective nozzles are in operation. As a result, each will receive afull annular coating 222 of sealing material in their concave seatswhich is later to serve as a gasket. Following the application of thesealing material, continued rotation of the coating table sequentiallybrings each lid to a point adjacent to the third transfer zone, and themeans for securing them against the coating stations are released.

THIRD TRANSFER ZONE Referring now to FIGS. 1, 10, and 13 to 16, theconstruction and operation of the third transfer means 50 for removinglids from the coating table, carrying them through the third transferzone 48, and delivering them to the third conveyor 52 will now bedescribed. Transfer means 50 comprises a support 224 and a carousel 226mounted on the support for rotation about a vertical axis. A baseplate228 is fixedly attached to support 224 and provided with a centralopening 230 through which extends rotatable drive shaft 232. Thecarousel includes a rotor plate 234 to which a series of radiallyextending pickup arms 236 are attached by means of pivot pins 238 toprovide individual movement of each arm in a vertical plane. Mounted onbaseplate 228 are cams 240 and 242, each adapted to be engaged by a camfollower 244 on each arm 236 once in each revolution to cause raising ofthe inner end and lowering of the outer end of each arm. The arms arenormally held in a position with their outer ends raised by a spring 246compressed between a boss 248 and the under side of rotor plate 234.

As seen in FIG. 13, the outer end of each arm 236 is provided with apickup device in the form of a conically shaped flexible suction cup250. The cup is in communication with a passageway 252 formed in thearm. The passageway is in turn disposed in communication with a flexibleair line or tube 254. The flexible tube is disposed in communicationwith a passageway 256 formed in rotor plate 234 and intermittently incommunication with a passageway 258 formed in bearing plate 260 and anaperture 262 formed in baseplate 228, the latter aperture being open toambient pressure.

Bearing plate 260 is securely attached to baseplate 228 by means of pin264, shown in FIG. 16, to prevent relative rotation and misalignment ofpassageway 258 and aperture 262, and also is provided with a centralopening 266 to allow passage and rotation of drive shaft 232. Plate 260is also provided with an aperture 268 adapted to be placed inintermittent communication with passageway 256 of member 234. Aperture268 is connected to a source of reduced pressure, not shown. As may beseen in FIG. 15, the apertures 258 and 268 are circumferentially spacedfrom each other by approximately Referring now to FIGS. 10, 13, and 16,the operation of the carousel transfer means 50 will now be described.AS the cam follower 244 of one of the arms 236 engages the leading edgeof the cam 240, the inner end of the arm is raised against the pressureof spring 246 and the outer end is lowered. As the suction cup 250engages a portion of the lid disposed on the station 196 which ismomentarily at the point of contact of the paths of travel of the pickupdevices and the stations, the interior of the suction cup is disposed incommunication with a source of reduced pressure, and the cup picks upthe lid and holds it securely.

As arm 236 continues to rotate about a vertical axis, the cam follower244 moves out of contact with cam 242, permitting the outer end of thearm and its pickup device to move upwardly by a predetermined amount. Asarm 236 continues to rotate, its cam follower 244 comes into contactwith cam 242, thereby once again causing arm 236 to move about its pivot238 until its outer end and the pickup device 250 move downwardly apredetermined amount. When the arm has rotated approximately 165, theinterior of the suction cup is disposed in communication with ambientpressure by way of passageways 256, 258, and 262, and the suction cupreleases the lid onto the ad jaceut end of conveyor 52. Continuedrotation of am 236 results in disengagement of its cam follower 244 fromcam 242, and the suction cup 250 moves upwardly .and away from the lid.It will be understood that a good sealing contact must be maintainedbetween the arm 234 and bearing plate 260 during the 165 travel in orderto maintain the vacuum produced at the suction cup 250 until it reachesthe point of deposit of the lid on conveyor 52.

A variant of the carousel 226 is illustrated in FIG. 14. In this form, abaseplate 270 is provided with an opening 272 for passage of rotatabledrive shaft 274 secured to rotor plate 276 at its upper end. Cams 240and 242 are secured to the baseplate in the same locations. Pickup arms278 are pivoted to rotor plate 276 by pins 280 as before and carry camfollowers 244 to cause lowering of the outer ends of the arms at thesame points in their rotation. In this case the suction cups arereplaced by magnets 282 secured to the outer ends of arms 278. Eachmagnet is provided on its lower face with a layer 284 of material whichis nonmagnetic and has a low coefficient of friction, such as a plasticmaterial. The carousel operates in the same way as in the previous formexcept that the pickup device lifts the lids by means of the magneticfield created by magnet 282. When magnet 282 overlies the adjacent endof conveyor 52 the lid is released and drawn down onto the conveyor bymeans of another magnet, later described, which overcomes the force ofmagnet 282. A passage 286 extends through the end of arm 278, the magnet282, and the coating 284 to eliminate any suction effect which mighthinder withdrawal ofthe lid.

Bearing in mind the fact that, although the plastisol used as thesealing material is considered as a viscous material, it can flow on theupper surface of the lid if the latter is subjected to any suddenmovements or vibrations. Thus, it is necessary to reduce disturbance toa minimum until the lids reach the curing station. For this reason theapparatus described above is arranged and coordinated so that, at thepickup point in FIG. 10, the circular paths of travel of the pickupdevices and the coating stations are tangent, and the pickup devices andstations are traveling in the same direction at the same speed. Also atthe point of deposit on conveyor 52, the pickup device is traveling atthe same speed and in the same direction as the conveyor belt. Thusthere are no abrupt changes of direction or speed to disturb theflowable sealing material.

THIRD CONVEYOR Referring to FIGS. 1 and 17 to 20, the third conveyor 52will now be described. This conveyor comprises a belt 288 of the chaintype to facilitate timing with the carousel and the succeeding conveyor.However, it is to be understood that a fabric-type belt can be used inthis and all other locations with appropriate sprocket drive whereaccurate timing is desired, and the term endless Ioop belt" refers toany type belt suitable for use in the apparatus. The belt actuallycomprises two laterally spaced chains as shown in FIG. 18 each carriedon a sprocket 290 at each end of the conveyor and driven by a motor nowshown. Detents 292 are evenly spaced along each chain and define betweenthem spaced areas or seats to receive individual lids. A series of tabs294 are secured to both chains between the detents to provide primarysupport for the lids.

An elongate bar magnet 296 is arranged to closely underlie the belt andextends from the end shown in FIG. 17 to a point somewhat short of thedelivery end of the conveyor. When the pickup device 250 releases a lidit is pulled down into seating engagement on the tabs 294. In the caseof the magnetic pickup device 282, the magnet 296 is considerablystronger and pulls the lid away from the pickup device. During theircourse of travel on the conveyor, the lids are held securely on the beltby the field of magnet 296 and therefore they are subject to minimumdisturbance.

FOURTH AND FIFTH TRANSFER ZONES Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 21 to 23,the construction and operation of the fourth conveyor 56, together withassociated elements, in the fourth and fifth transfer zones will now bedescribed. Conveyor 56 essentially comprises belt 298 in the form ofchains trained over sprockets 300 at both ends of the conveyor, thesprockets 300 being driven by sprockets 290, and magnetic pickup devices302 secured to the belt 298 at exactly the same spacing as the lid seatson belts 288.

As will be observed at the right-hand end of FIG. 21, the receiving endof the fourth conveyor 56 overlies the delivery end of the thirdconveyor 52 in slightly spaced relation and overlaps it by an amountslightly greater than the extend of one lid seat on belt 288. Belts 288and 298 are coordinated so that they travel at the same lineal speed andeach successive pickup device 302 travels directly over the center ofthe cooperating lid seat on belt 288. Thus, at thetransfer point eachdevice 302 picks up the underlying lid and carries it onward, to theleft in FIG. 21, to bring it over the appropriate part of the fifthconveyor belt 60 in the fifth transfer zone 58. Belt 60 is considerablywider than the previous belts, being capable of receiving a row of asmany as 18 or 20 lids extending transversely of its length and directionof travel. As shown in FIGS. 21 and 22, belt 60 travels in a directionperpendicular to the direction of travel of belt 298. Means to bedescribed later cause the magnetic pickup devices 302 to release aplurality of lids simultaneously on the receiving end of belt 60 to formthe transverse rows mentioned. The release means acts intermittently sothat a continuous series of transverse rows of lids are deposited onbelt 60 at longitudinal intervals.

The releasable magnetic pickup devices 302 are illustrated in detail inFIG. 23. Each device comprises a cylindrical body 304 having a bore 306for the passage of a shaft, a first counterbore 308 for the reception ofa spring, and a second, larger counterbore 310 to receive a magnet. Eachbody is mounted on belt 298 so that the magnet end faces outwardly ofthe belt. Magnet 312 is press fitted into counterbore 310 and isprovided with a central bore 314. A plunger 316 is slidably mounted onbores 306 and 314 and provided with a head 318 which overlies the outerend of the magnet, the head being provided with a relief opening 320 toprevent a vacuum drag which might interfere with release of a lid. Theouter face of the head 318 is coated with a layer 322 of a materialhaving a low coefficient of friction and being unaffected by a magneticfield, such as a suitable plastic, the head having a large vacuumbreaking opening 324.

Magnet 312 confines a compression spring 326 in counterbore 308, and asnapring 328 on plunger 316 engages the upper end of the spring toyieldingly hold the plunger in retracted position. When the plunger isfully retracted, the field of magnet 312 is strong enough to extendoutwardly beyond the plunger head and layer 322 and pick up a lid frombelt 288 and retain it for delivery to transfer zone 58. When a pickupdevice reaches the appropriate location in the transfer zone, a releasemember 330 presses plunger 316 downwardly and outwardly, and head 318moves correspondingly to lower lid to such an extent that the liftingforce of magnet 312 is negatived and the lid is released to conveyor 60.

The release mechanism to operate member 330, which is an elongate bar,includes a chain 332 driven by a sprocket, not shown, which is mountedon the same shaft as sprocket 300. The chain drives gear 334, whichengages idler gear 336 to drive gear 338 in a clockwise direction asviewed in FIG. 2]. Gear 338 carries a cam 340, which engages camfollower 342 of lever arm 344 once in each revolution of gear 338 toraise the arm clockwise about its pivotal mounting 346.

Release rotor 348 is connected by means of a slip clutch, not shown, toa power source such as the drive shaft of sprocket 300 to be rotatedclockwise when not blocked. The end 350 of lever arm 344 serves as astop to engage detent 352 on rotor 348. When cam 340 of gear 338 engagescam follower 342, arm 344 rises sufficiently to disengage its stop 350from detent 352 and allow rotor 348 to rotate. However, as soon as cam340 passes cam follower 342, the arm 344 again lowers, and its stop 350rides on the surface of rotor 348 to intercept dentent 352, limiting therotor to one full turn for each full turn of gear 338. The rotoroperates more rapidly than gear 338 in order to perform its releasefunction during minimum travel of belt 298.

Release motor 348 drives support rotors 354 and 356 in a positive mannerthrough chains 358 and 360 and sprockets not shown so that the supportrotors will make one full revolution each time the release rotor makesone full revolution. Release bar 330 is arranged horizontally closelyspaced above the lower pass of belt 298 and a plurality of magneticpickup devices 302. The bar is eccentrically mounted to rotors 354 and356 by pivot pins 362 and 364 which are directly to the right of therotor centers when the rotors are at rest. Hence, each time rotor 348 isreleased, rotors 354 and 356 immediately move bar 330 down to contact aplurality of plungers 316 and release a corresponding number of lids.This is accomplished in the first 90 of movement of the rotors andduring the remainder of their rotation the bar is raised and returned toits original position, ready for the next cycle. Thus it will be seenthat the release mechanism operates intermittently to deposit transverserows of lids on conveyor 60 while conveyor 56 runs continuously. Thelength of bar 330 is selected to release the desired number of lids ineach cycle.

SECOND TREATING ZONECURING STATION Conveyor 60 is operated at a selectedspeed to produce the desired longitudinal gap between the transverserows of lids and this is normally much slower than the lineal speed ofconveyor 56. Referring to FIG. 1, conveyor 60 carries the rows of lidsto and through the second treating zone 62 and its curing station 64,where they are subjected to predetermined elevated temperatures for asufficient period of time to allow the sealing material 222 to cure andset up. Since the apparatus shown in FIG. 1 may utilize any one of anumber of conventionally available curing chambers or ovens, furtherdiscussion of the construction and operation of such equipment is notdeemed necessary.

SIXTH TRANSFER ZONE Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 24, the constructionand operation of the apparatus for removing lids from the curing stationand moving them onward through the sixth transfer zone 66 will now bedescribed. Conveyor 60 carries the transverse rows of lids onward fromzone 58 to and through the curing station and to zone 66 at a relativelylow lineal rate to provide time for curing. A sixth conveyor 68 islocated at zone 66 and is arranged in longitudinal alignment withconveyor 60 and located to define a longitudinal gap 366 between thedelivery end of conveyor 60 and the receiving end of conveyor 68. Adiversion passage 368 communicates with gap 366 and leads downward to astorage area for purposes to be described later.

Conveyor 68 operates at a much higher lineal speed than conveyor 60 andits belt is provided with a coating, such as a suitable plastic, whichhas a very low coefficient of friction. A seventh conveyor 70 is locatedat the transfer zone, aligned longitudinally with the other two andarranged above them so that the lower pass 370 of its belt 372 is spacedslightly above the confronting ends of conveyors 60 and 68, said lowerpass traveling in the same direction as the upper passes of the others.

An elongate magnet 374 is arranged just above lower pass 370 of belt 372and extends over the ends of conveyors 60 and 68. As a lid 100approaches the end of conveyor 60 it is subjected to the field of magnet374 and drawn up against lower pass 370 of belt 372. The belt moves itthrough the magnetic field until it is downstream of the field and thelid then drops onto conveyor 68. The magnet, of course, extends entirelyacross the width of the conveyors and hence acts on entire transverserows of lids at the same time.

In the event of jamming or other difficulty at a downstream point in thesystem it will be apparent that the flow of lids through the curingstation cannot be stopped because the sealing material would beovercured and the lids would be unusable. Therefore, the magnet 374 ispivotally mounted at 376 to swing upwardly at the end overlying conveyor60. A servomotor 378 is connected through linkage 380 to end of magnet374, and acts in response to a trouble signal from downstream to raisethe end of the magnet to such an extent that its field will not raisethe oncoming lids into contact with belt 372. As a result, such lidswill fall in the gap 366 and pass through diversion passage 368 to astorage area. These lids are later sorted and packed manually.

SEVENTH TRANSFER ZONE Referring now to FIGS. 1, 25 and 26, the apparatusfor realigning the lids into single file again for delivery to theassembly stations will now be described. Conveyor 68 carries thetransverse rows of lids forward into transfer zone 72 where they areintercepted by diverter 74. The diverter includes a large rectangularplate 382 which overlies the major portion of the area of conveyor 68and is spaced closely above the conveyor to provide just sufficientclearance for free passage of the lids.

A diverter rib 384 divides plate 382 and extends above and below it toprovide stiffness, the lower margin of rib lying substantially incontact with the surface of conveyor belt 68 to intercept the lidscarried thereby. As will be seen in FIG. 26, the rib extends at an angleto the direction of travel of belt 68, with its downstream end overlyingan eighth conveyor 76. As the rows reach the rib at relatively highspeed they are angularly diverted and the rubbing action of thelow-friction belt provides just enough drive to cause them to proceed insingle file along the length of the rib and onto conveyor 76, which thendelivers them sequentially in single file to the first as- I sembly zone80, where they are arranged in sets of suitable quantities and placed inboxes. The boxes are then conveyed to a first packaging zone where theyare packed in cartons for shipping.

if all of the lids are to be packed separately from closure bands, theupstream end of rib 384 will be located at one side of the conveyor andthe rib will extend diagonally across the entire width. However, theapparatus is usually operated to provide a certain quantity of lids forcombining with flanged closure bands to constitute complete closureassemblies which are sold in sets with new jars, and to provide a muchlarger quantity of lids to be packed in separate sets and sold forreplacement use by housewives.

For this purpose, rib 384 is arranged as shown in FIG. 26 with itsupstream end located between the sides of the conveyor, and a second rib386 is provided which diverts a smaller portion of the lids into singlefile and deposits them on ninth conveyor 78 which delivers the lidssequentially in single file to the second assembly zone 84.

Another variation includes the provision of a third diverter rib 388 todivide the larger group of lids into two single file rows for deliveryto conveyor 76.

LID AND CLOSURE BAND ASSEMBLY Referring now to FIGS. 1, 27, and 28, themachine for combining lids with flanged closure bands to produce totalclosure assemblies will now be described. The assembly machine 86 islocated at the second assembly zone 84 and is supplied sequentially withlids in single file by conveyor 78. It is fed with flanged closure bandsfrom a source of supply 88 by a 10th conveyor 90. The source 88 may be acomplete stamping and forming machine or a storage bin with means forsorting the bands and supplying them to conveyor 90. The conveyorsupplies the bands sequentially in single file to machine 84 with theirflanged edges up. As is well known, these bands include a narrow annularplanar marginal band to engage the margin of a lid in use and agenerally cylindrical flange threaded to engage the thread on the jarmouth and clamp the lid in sealing engagement.

The lids enter the machine at 390 and move onto an arcuate plate 392while the bands 394 enter the machine at 396 and move onto an arcuateplate 398 spaced below plate 392 sufficiently to allow free movement ofthe bands. An arcuate spacer and guide plate 400 maintains the properspacing between plates 392 and 398 and also defines the outer side ofthe path of travel of the bands 394 through the machine. An arcuateguide plate 402 defines the outer side of the path of travel of the lidsthrough the machine.

As best seen in FIG. 27, a cylindrical base member 404 contains abearing 406 for vertical drive shaft 408. At the top of the shaft isfixed a dual feeding rotor 410, preferably in the form of two starwheels 412 and 414 keyed in registry by pin 416. The arms 418 of starwheel 412 and 420 of star wheel 414 are in vertical registry and whenthe rotor revolves counterclockwise as viewed in FIG. 28 theysequentially pick up plate 398. These slots are in vertical alignmentwith each other and with the paths of the centers of the lid and band. Abracket 428 is bolted to the underside of plate 412 angularly in advanceof each arm 418, and at its outer end carries a bearing 430 which iscentered directly under the center of a band engaged with the respectivestar wheel arm.

A vertical shaft 432 is mounted in each bearing for vertical movementand carries at its upper end a magnet 434. Slots 424 and 426 are ofsufficient width to freely pass the magnet and shaft. A radial arm 436is attached to the lower end of each shaft 432 and extends radiallyinwardly, carrying a roller cam follower 438 adapted to follow in camtrack 440 formed in the sidewall 442 of base member 404. A roller guide444 is mounted at the bottom of shaft 432 to contact the wall of basemember 404 and steady the shaft.

Cam track 440 is formed so that as each star wheel arm approaches thebeginning of slots 424 and 426 the shaft 432 will begin to rise andmagnet 434 will ascend through both slots and contact the center of thelid. The magnet stays at the upper level with its field retaining thelid until the lid has moved arcuately beyond the end 422 of itssupporting plate. The magnet then gradually descends, carrying the lidwith it and pulling the lid firmly into seating engagement in the band,after which the magnet descends below plate 398 and releases the lid.The assembly now continues onward riding on plate 398 until it reachesthe exit 446 where it passes onto the receiving end of llth conveyor 92to be delivered to the second packaging zone 94.

It will be understood that the closures arriving at zones 80 and 94 maybe packaged automatically or manually. It is also to be understood thatif one-piece closures are to be manufactured, having an annular sealingarea at the margin of the lid portion, they may be stamped and formed bymachine 30 suitably modified for the purpose, and such closures may beprocessed through the apparatus in the same manner described above withrespect to the lids.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes maybe made in the construction and operation of the system disclosedwithout departing from the spirit of the invention, and it is intendedthat all such changes shall be embraced within the scope ofthe followingclaims.

lclaim:

1. A method of continuously producing, on line, closures suitable foruse in sealing hollow containers, said method comprising the steps of:stamping and forming closure lids, each having a first face adapted forsealing contact with the mouth of a hollow container and having a secondopposed face; delivering said lids sequentially, with their first faceddown, to a first transfer zone; lifting said lids in said zone andmoving them through an arc of approximately 180 in a vertical plane toinvert them to positions with their first faces up; sequentiallydelivering said lids to a second transfer zone; sequentially moving saidlids from said second transfer zone into a first treating zone; movingsaid lids sequentially through said first treating zone to a thirdtransfer zone and applying a layer of sealing material to a selectedarea of the first face of each lid during such movement; sequentiallylifting each lid at said third transfer zone and delivering it to afourth transfer zone; sequentially transferring each of said lids andmoving it to a fifth transfer zone; moving said lids from said fifthtransfer delivered along two parallel ceeding lid in its own path,substantially simultaneously at said first transfer zone; and a pair ofsaid lids is lifted and removed from said paths before the arrival ofthe next pair of lids.

3. A method as claimed in claim 2; said lids being lifted and removed ina plane substantially perpendicular to their previous paths of travel.

4. A method as claimed in claim 1; in which said lids are moved throughsaid first treating zone at a selected rate of 5. A method as claimed inclaim 1; in which said lids are delivered to said fifth transfer zonelineally in single file; and a plurality of said lids are releasedsimultaneously from their lineal path of movement and are simultaneouslymoved horizontally in a new path of movement normal to their previouspath of movement in a row extending transverse to their new path ofmovement; each subsequent plurality of lids being released andtransferred similarly to form a succession of transverse rows of lidspassing through said second treating zone.

6. A method as claimed in claim 1; said lids at said first transfer zonebeing subjected to a first magnetic field to lift them, then being movedlaterally of their previous path of movement, and then being subjectedto a second magnetic 7. A method as claimed in claim 1; in which eachlid is removed from said first treating zone and moved through saidthird transfer zone subjecting said lid to a magnetic field and movingsaid field through said third transfer zone.

8. A method as claimed in claim 1; in which each lid is transfer zone.

9. A method as claimed in claim 1; in which each lid is transferred atthe fourth transfer zone by subjecting it to an inmagnetic fields aresequentially transfer zone; and said lids are bodily forced verticallyaway from their respective magnetic fields to release them for movementto the second treating zone.

10. A method as claimed in claim 1; and the further steps of moving saidlids from said second treating zone to a sixth transfer zone; realigningsaid lids and changing their direction of travel at said sixth transferzone; and sequentially delivering each of said lids to an assembly zone.

11. A method as claimed in claim 10; and the further steps ofsequentially supplying flanged closure bands to said assembly zone inflange-up attitude; vertically aligning each lid with a mating band withthe lid uppermost; and moving the lid into seating engagement within theband to form a total closure assembly.

12. A method as claimed in claim 11; including the further step ofsubjecting the lid to a magnetic field and moving the field downward toforce the lid into snug engagement within the band.

13. A method of automatically producing closures suitable for use insealing hollow containers, said method comprising the steps of: formingclosure lids each of which has a first face adapted for sealing contactwith the mouth of a hollow container and having a second opposed face;delivering said lids Mm 4 mu to a first treating zone with each of saidlids having their first faces up when delivered to said first treatingzone; moving said lids sequentially through said first treating zone toa first transfer zone and applying a layer of sealing material to aselected area of each lid during such movement; sequentially liftingeach lid at said first transfer zone and delivering it to a secondtransfer zone; sequentially transferring each of said lids and moving itto a third transfer zone; substantially simultaneously moving aplurality of said lids in predetermined groups from said third transferzone to and through a second treating zone; and curing the sealingmaterial during the movement of said lids through said second treatingzone.

14. A method of combining closure lids with flanged closure bands toproduce total closure assemblies, comprising: sequentially supplyingsaid closure bands to an assembly zone in flange-up attitude;sequentially supplying said closure lids to said assembly zone atpositions spaced above mating bands; arranging each lid and band set invertical registry; continuously moving each set along a predeterminedpath of travel in spaced relation; and gradually moving the lid and bandof each set relatively vertically together to seat each lid in itsmating band while each said set is continuously moving along apredetermined path.

15. A method as claimed in claim 14; including creating a magneticfield; subjecting each lid to said field; and moving said fielddownwardly as said lid and band move onwardly to draw each lid down intofirm seating engagement with its mating band.

Inuvn a

1. A method of continuously producing, on line, closures suitable foruse in sealing hollow containers, said method comprising the steps of:stamping and forming closure lids, each having a first face adapted forsealing contact with the mouth of a hollow container and having a secondopposed face; delivering said lids sequentially, with their first faceddown, to a first transfer zone; lifting said lids in said zone andmoving them through an arc of approximately 180* in a vertical plane toinvert them to positions with their first faces up; sequentiallydelivering said lids to a second transfer zone; sequentially moving saidlids from said second transfer zone into a first treating zone; movingsaid lids sequentially through said first treating zone to a thirdtransfer zone and applying a layer of sealing material to a selectedarea of the first face of each lid during such movement; sequentiallylifting each lid at said third transfer zone and delivering it to afourth transfer zone; sequentially transferring each of said lids andmoving it to a fifth transfer zone; moving said lids from said fifthtransfer zone to and through a second treating zone; and curing thesealing material during the movement of said lids through said secondtreating zone.
 2. A method as claimed in claim 1; in which said lids aredelivered along two parallel paths to said first transfer zone, each lidin each path being spaced substantially from each succeeDing lid in itsown path, and one lid in each path arriving substantially simultaneouslyat said first transfer zone; and a pair of said lids is lifted andremoved from said paths before the arrival of the next pair of lids. 3.A method as claimed in claim 2; said lids being lifted and removed in aplane substantially perpendicular to their previous paths of travel. 4.A method as claimed in claim 1; in which said lids are moved throughsaid first treating zone at a selected rate of lineal travel, and arelifted at said third transfer zone and delivered onward at the same rateof lineal travel.
 5. A method as claimed in claim 1; in which said lidsare delivered to said fifth transfer zone lineally in single file; and aplurality of said lids are released simultaneously from their linealpath of movement and are simultaneously moved horizontally in a new pathof movement normal to their previous path of movement in a row extendingtransverse to their new path of movement; each subsequent plurality oflids being released and transferred similarly to form a succession oftransverse rows of lids passing through said second treating zone.
 6. Amethod as claimed in claim 1; said lids at said first transfer zonebeing subjected to a first magnetic field to lift them, then being movedlaterally of their previous path of movement, and then being subjectedto a second magnetic field; the latter being rotated in a vertical planeto invert said lids sequentially.
 7. A method as claimed in claim 1; inwhich each lid is removed from said first treating zone and movedthrough said third transfer zone subjecting said lid to a magnetic fieldand moving said field through said third transfer zone.
 8. A method asclaimed in claim 1; in which each lid is removed from said firsttreating zone and moved through said third transfer zone by subjectingsaid lid to a source of reduced pressure and moving said source throughsaid third transfer zone.
 9. A method as claimed in claim 1; in whicheach lid is transferred at the fourth transfer zone by subjecting it toan individual magnetic field; said magnetic fields are sequentiallymoved linearly into said fifth transfer zone; and said lids are bodilyforced vertically away from their respective magnetic fields to releasethem for movement to the second treating zone.
 10. A method as claimedin claim 1; and the further steps of moving said lids from said secondtreating zone to a sixth transfer zone; realigning said lids andchanging their direction of travel at said sixth transfer zone; andsequentially delivering each of said lids to an assembly zone.
 11. Amethod as claimed in claim 10; and the further steps of sequentiallysupplying flanged closure bands to said assembly zone in flange-upattitude; vertically aligning each lid with a mating band with the liduppermost; and moving the lid into seating engagement within the band toform a total closure assembly.
 12. A method as claimed in claim 11;including the further step of subjecting the lid to a magnetic field andmoving the field downward to force the lid into snug engagement withinthe band.
 13. A method of automatically producing closures suitable foruse in sealing hollow containers, said method comprising the steps of:forming closure lids each of which has a first face adapted for sealingcontact with the mouth of a hollow container and having a second opposedface; delivering said lids to a first treating zone with each of saidlids having their first faces up when delivered to said first treatingzone; moving said lids sequentially through said first treating zone toa first transfer zone and applying a layer of sealing material to aselected area of each lid during such movement; sequentially liftingeach lid at said first transfer zone and delivering it to a secondtransfer zone; sequentially transferring each of said lids and moving itto a third transfer zone; substantially simultaneously moving aplurality of said lids in predetermined groups from said third transferzone to and through a second treating zone; and curing the sealingmaterial during the movement of said lids through said second treatingzone.
 14. A method of combining closure lids with flanged closure bandsto produce total closure assemblies, comprising: sequentially supplyingsaid closure bands to an assembly zone in flange-up attitude;sequentially supplying said closure lids to said assembly zone atpositions spaced above mating bands; arranging each lid and band set invertical registry; continuously moving each set along a predeterminedpath of travel in spaced relation; and gradually moving the lid and bandof each set relatively vertically together to seat each lid in itsmating band while each said set is continuously moving along apredetermined path.
 15. A method as claimed in claim 14; includingcreating a magnetic field; subjecting each lid to said field; and movingsaid field downwardly as said lid and band move onwardly to draw eachlid down into firm seating engagement with its mating band.